Pune cops nab crooks who posed as IT professionals, looted 19 houses

Sep 17, 2014, 15:20 IST
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A Correspondent

The Hinjewadi police have recovered goods worth R5 lakh from the duo, who were finally captured on a CCTV camera during a burglary in Wakad

In what the Hinjewadi police claim is a major breakthrough, two crooks have been arrested and charged with 19 burglaries. The duo had eluded the cops so far by cleverly posing as software professionals while scouting their targets.

NAILED: According to the police, the thieves were finally captured on a CCTV camera while they were robbing an apartment at Eden Tower in Wakad on July 23. Their investigations first led them to Malkappa Shankar Gaikwad (19), alias Chilya, who helped them find Kashinath Chandrakant Gaikwad (24). Both are residents of Dighi. pic/Thinkstock

Modus operandiThe pair of them would wear branded clothes, expensive watches and sunglasses, and would additionally carry laptop bags to pass unsuspected. They would ring the doorbell at houses they were scouting, waiting to see if anyone was home.

If somebody did answer the door, they merely chatted for a while and then moved on to their next target. When they found a door unanswered, they would enter the house through the balcony and loot whatever valuables they could find in 10 to 15 minutes.

Once they were done, they would calmly walk out and none would be the wiser.

Suave robbersTalking about their modus operandi, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Chaturshrungi division), Smita Patil said, “The duo used to recce the place and targeted mostly high profile societies. They used to be smartly dressed and carrying laptop bags so that nobody suspected them. From the terrace, they would climb down and land in the balcony and then break into the flat. Within 10 to15 minutes, they would pack whatever jewellery, or other costly items they could lay their hands on, and then walk away pretending nothing had happened. They mostly committed burglaries during daytime.”

With the duo’s arrest, the police claim to have solved 19 burglary cases, and have recovered goods worth R5 lakh from them, including gold ornaments weighing 150 gm, five laptops, three two-wheelers, mobile phones and a car (Hyundai Ascent) bearing the registration number (MH-04-AS-4468).

According to the police, the thieves were finally captured on a CCTV camera while they were robbing an apartment at Eden Tower in Wakad on July 23. Their investigations first led them to Malkappa Shankar Gaikwad (19), alias Chilya, who in turn helped them find Kashinath Chandrakant Gaikwad (24). Both are residents of Dighi.

Police officials said Kashinath was educated till matriculate level, and he used to commit burglaries for fun. “They used to sell stolen ornaments to jewellers. Sometimes they used to ask them to make other ornaments from the stolen ones and then sell those anew. They had also purchased a car from the money they looted. We will take action against the jewellers who colluded with them also,” said Senior Police Inspector Suresh Bhosale, in-charge of Hinjewadi Police station.